Should You Buy Modern Heating Furnaces?

The heating furnaces of today consume significantly less energy than older ones. So if you are still using an old furnace from many years, maybe it is time to think of an upgrade. The cost of buying a new furnace can be quickly gained back through the savings in electricity bills.

New furnaces have other benefits over older ones besides energy efficiency. The operating noise of the new ones is considerably less than their older counterparts. Another huge advantage is that they produce even heating and are also good at maintaining their temperature at a more constant level. Therefore if you have been thinking of upgrading your home furnace it is a good idea to do so before winter.

Before buying a new one, do check if there are any tax rebates available to you.

One of the biggest complaints about old, ageing furnaces is that they give lot of trouble, break down frequently and are not reliable. In short, they are not worth the money and efforts required to repair and maintain them. House owners are better off going for a new, more efficient one if their old furnace has run past its age.

Many factors may come into play leading to furnaces getting spoiled or not functioning optimally. Some of the factors include lack of proper and timely maintenance, overuse, using a smaller sized unit when the house requires a larger one, general wear and tear that comes with age and use etc.

From time to time you might hear horror stories of how people had to suffer in peak winter when their furnace broke down and how the people had to put on all their winter gear from head to toe just to stay warm, due to a faulty furnace.

If you don't want to run into a similar problem it is a good idea to get your furnace checked before winter sets in. Call a professional and get it checked. Find out if it requires any repairing or maintenance or does it need to be replaced altogether. This is very important if you have old people, kids, pregnant women or sick people in your house. You don't want them to suffer due to any negligence.

Benefits of Upgrading to Modern Furnaces:

The modern furnaces can be a good solution because they use less energy, provide even heating, may require less maintenance and can be more durable and reliable.

People living in places where weather is severe need to be very alert about the heating tools in their house. They need to make sure everything is in good condition before the onset of the cold months. Slight negligence may lead to bigger problems and headaches. You don't want your family to spend even one single night during peak winter without a proper running furnace, do you?

The modern furnaces are highly energy efficient saving you lot of money on power bills. They are much better in maintaining a constant temperature. They don't require the frequent cycle of on and off.

When compared to furnaces older than 10 years of more, their reliability is much higher. They need very few repairs, if any. They can keep functioning without frequent breakups. If you care about your family and want to pass the winter months comfortably without any unwanted surprises, do consider using modern furnaces.

Besides superior heating power, energy efficiency and greater control, modern furnaces are also more environment friendly. They need less fuel to operate. The government realizing the environmental benefits of these modern equipment, usually offers incentives in the form of tax rebates to encourage public to install them in their homes by upgrading from their older ones. Why don't you take advantage of such offers and incentives?

What I suggest is to check out many review websites on the internet and also check out sites like Amazon and other big retailing giants or electronic stores to read what other people are saying and which is the best furnace to buy. Many websites allow end users like you and me to share their experiences, rate and review different products. Reading about the experience and feedback of others can help you make a better buying decision.

You may check out Youtube videos from house experts or visit their websites to see what they have to say about modern vs older furnaces. Do your due research before you make any investment in upgrading.

Furnace Maintenance:

Furnace maintenance is very important. Just buying a new, upgraded one isn't sufficient. You need to maintain it to avoid problems and to keep it running smoothly.


With regular, timely maintenance your furnace can give you good service when you require it the most - during the winter months. When the inside moving parts are properly lubricated, blower components adjusted properly,  gas pressure and condenser are inspected, this can improve the performance and durability.

During the seasonal inspection and maintenance, there is a wide range of inspection tests that takes place to thoroughly check all components and parts of the furnace. The condensate drains are cleaned, moving parts lubricated, wear and tear of any parts is checked, and if any part needs replacement they are done so.

Safety is of paramount importance. A comprehensive furnace maintenance and checkup should include review of the safety features. Problem areas, if any, should be identified and rectified. Some of the safety measures and checks which should be performed include:
cleaning and adjusting burner assembly and ignition assembly,
cleaning or replacing air filters,
testing heat exchanger and a host of other safety measures.

It is a good thing to make a habit to maintain your furnace in good working condition and to get it checked at regular intervals. Hire some really professional and trusted people to do this work. Check out their past history and credibility. How many years have they been in this business of furnace repair and maintenance? What do their customers have to say about them? Are their rates reasonable or exorbitant?

Tips To Keep Your Home & Yourself Warm This Winter

Even during winter, you can keep your home warm and comfortable while keeping your electric bills down. We present below few tips:

1. Check and replace weatherstripping: If weatherstrippings on any doors or windows are worn out, they can let in cold air into the house. According to Black Hills Energy, around 12 percent or more of home’s heat loss occurs through windows and doors. Thus it is important to leak proof them. So check for any worn out weatherstrippings on any doors or windows.

Check all the rooms and if you find any worn and torn weatherstrippings it is time to repair or replace them. Some weatherstrippings may need to be replaced every few years due to wear and tear. It is quite simple to replace them and don’t need any professional people to do that for you. Anyone in the house can do it by pulling off the old one and putting a new one in its place.

This is an important step you can take to prevent heat loss from your home. As they say prevention is better than cure. If you prevent heat loss you may not need to turn up the furnace or heater more than necessary, thus preventing extra electric bills.

2. Adjusting Door Thresholds:Can you see light coming in through your front door? If yes, you are losing heat through that gap between the door and the threshold. You might be running a heater to heat up your house and a lot of that heat is escaping through this gap right under the door. Make sure there isn’t any gap between the door and thresholds. The heat loss is costing you money in terms of increased electricity bills.

Some thresholds have few screws that can let you adjust its height, thus eliminating gaps. Turn these screws counterclockwise to lift the threshold until you cannot see the sunlight from outside beneath your door. However don’t raise it so high that it makes opening and closing the door a problem. Also make sure the door doesn’t drag on the threshold as it can affect the weatherstripping.

3. Plug holes in the walls: Gas lines, electric cables or pipes that come into your house usually have gaps around them which might have been filled up with caulk. But the caulk cracks and peels off after some time leaving gaps which can let in cold outside air during severe winters. This might not seem as a big thing but can affect how warm your house feels inside.

These gaps are also places which can let in insects or mice into your house. It is a good idea to seal these gaps by using expanding foam. This will help in keeping out the cold outside air and enjoying a warm, comfortable temperature inside.

4. Use Portable Heaters: Space heaters can be used in places like the living room where the whole family gathers. During this time you can turn down the furnace temperature. The house may become cooler due to this but you will be warm. For every degree below 70 F that you turn down the furnace, you will save up to 2–3 percent on your power bills.

If you are looking to buy a furnace please check out this short guide: how to buy a heating furnace

5. Utilize wood fireplace: Wood fireplaces can provide more heat than gas fireplaces. They can also be more cost effective since you can burn scrap wood, sawdust, fallen trees or branches, thus saving some valuable money.

6. Make use of curtains:This is another cool, cost-effective idea to keep your homes warm. Hang heavy curtains or blankets over windows. The curtains will act as an extra barrier to prevent the cold outside air from reaching inside.

An additional thing you can do is to hang curtains or blankets around your bed while sleeping at night. This will help in trapping body heat and providing insulation during the night for a warm, comfortable sleep. However make sure there is proper ventilation and the blankets or curtains do not block fresh air completely because you need supply of fresh air during sleep. Furthermore if you place rugs on tile, concrete or hardwood flooring it will help in insulation efforts.

7. Chimney Balloons:The problem with using fireplaces is that when they are not in use, the warm air from your home is escaping through the chimneys. You can use an inflatable chimney balloons to prevent such a scenario. These balloons are available online on sites such as Amazon. They don’t cost a lot, probably around 50 bucks or so but can save you more than $100 per year in power bills, so they are a good investment.

The balloons can be blown up and stuck up the chimney. In case you forget to take them out before starting a fire, the balloon is set to deflate automatically. So don’t worry about the house being filled with smoke. However, keep in mind the balloons may become difficult to use or become sooty after many repeated uses and may need to be replaced after a while.

8. Use Sun To Your Advantage:Even though there may be freezing temperatures outside still the rays of the sun can bring about warmth and heat into your home. Keep your curtains open during the day. If any tree branches or plants are blocking sunlight from reaching inside, trim them.

Sunlight is free and an excellent source of heat. So make best use of it to get some warmth into the house and also reduce the furnace needs.

9. Lock Doors And Windows Early:Lock doors and windows early in the evening so that they will lock in tightly. As the evening progresses and temperatures fall, the windows might freeze in their positions. If the windows freeze in their current position, they may require lot of force and efforts to lock them tightly. If you don’t lock them tightly, the cold air can infiltrate into your rooms.

10. Keep Yourself Warm:

In addition to the above tips, it is important to keep yourself warm during winters. Eat warm foods like soups or spicy things and also stick to organic foods. Use several layers of blankets on the bed to keep warm during sleep. Also wear warm clothes and put on woollen socks and sweaters.

Finding Time & Motivation To Maintain A Clean & Tidy House

How wonderful it feels when your home is clean and not messy. It is important to keep your house neat and free of germs. All things should be in their proper places so that you can easily find them when required. However, most times, this is easier said than done, specially when you have kids at home.

When there are kids your workload can increase to keep the house clean. Even if you clean things up, very soon you will find the house has become messy again with toys and other stuff lying around everywhere.

For working people, even if there are no kids at home, it might become difficult to keep their home neat and tidy as they feel tired after getting home from a long day at work and don’t have the energy and will to clean up things. They might lazily throw about clothes and stuff here and there. You might put off doing work and eventually the work will pile up so much that it feels like moving a mountain. The important thing is to not let the work pile up big time.

Let us divide this article into 3 parts:

#1 — In first part we shall address the problem of how to find time and inclination to clean the house, even if you are tired and just reached home after a hectic day at work.

#2 — In this part we shall discuss tips and strategies to get the help of other house members in maintaining cleanliness.

#3 — Here we shall discuss ways to find inspiration to want to have a neat and beautiful house so that you start finding it easy to do the household chores which you used to run away from earlier.

Part 1 — Finding Motivation to Keep House Clean

How many times people plan on cleaning their house only to find they aren’t motivated enough or tired, and thus decide to do it later. How can we solve this problem?

The solution to the problem may not be simple but it is definitely doable. It is recommended that you take small steps.

For example, if you come home from outside and find your room is a complete mess with clothes lying all around, and also your kitchen sink is full of unwashed utensils, what do you do in such a scenario?

If you decide to handle all of this right now it will make you feel overwhelmed. So what do you do? You decide that you are only going to clean the room today. If even that feels too much you may think , ‘Oh ok! I will give just 20 minutes of time to clean up the room. Whatever I am able to sort out within this time I will do it, the rest will be done tomorrow.’

So you decide on a time frame which feels comfortable and doable to you. Do not go for a timeframe which makes you cringe and makes you want to avoid this unpleasant task.

After deciding on a time frame, start immediately. Do not think that you will first have a cup of coffee and then start cleaning. This is a trick your mind is playing on you to make you avoid the work. If you fall for the trick you will end up having a cup of coffee then another thought is going to pop up in your mind, ‘Oh! I will just check my email for 5 minutes as there is something urgent to check’.

The important thing is to start immediately. If you feel like procrastinating, remind yourself that you are just doing this only for 10–20 minutes or whatever time you have decided.

Once the time is up, it is up to you now whether you want to continue for some more time or stop. If you want to stop there is nothing wrong with it. But mostly what will happen is that you will want to continue further. This is the power and effectiveness of getting started and having small targets which you can easily reach.

#2 — Enlisting The Help of All Household Members

It is not an easy task to maintain cleanliness in the house all by yourself. You would need the help of others. So we shall address this issue now.

First up, if you are living with your family then enlist the help of your spouse. Talk to him or her and tell them that we need to take some time out everyday, even if it is as little as 10 minutes to do our bit for the house.

Try to divide different tasks so that each person can be held responsible. As an example, you might take over the responsibility of washing the dishes while your spouse will do the vacuum cleaning or some other task.

It is important to get the kids to help you. The benefit of this would be that it would inculcate a sense of neatness in them and develop in them a habit of doing the tasks they are responsible for, co-operating with others in getting some work done, overcoming procrastination and laziness. These habits can carry over in their adult lives and can prove very beneficial to them.

While enlisting the help of others make sure to assign each small, do-able tasks. Aim for small targets which do not make anyone feel overwhelmed, at least initially.

#3 — Tips to Get Inspired To Maintain Clean House

Finally it is important to always be inspired and motivated to have a neat and clean home so that you will do the household chores on time and not put them off.

You can paste pictures of clean and beautiful looking homes at different places like on the refrigerator, doors etc. In your kitchen, you can paste a picture of clean looking kitchen with the wash basin empty and not filled with dirty unwashed dishes.

You may find these pictures in magazines, newspapers or search on internet then take large, color printouts.

Also when you feel laziness in doing any task, remind yourself how good it will look when the task is done; how clean your house will look and how satisfactory it will feel when you have been able to overcome your laziness and get the work done.

However if you are too busy, sick, have a large house and feel the above tips won’t work for you then you can enlist the help of Green Ladies Cleaning services to maintain your house.

Start Your Career On The Right Note - An Important Read

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. "  - Steve Jobs (Apple)

It is important to start your career on the right note. Many people, in their eagerness to get a job and start their earning life would accept any job that comes their way. They just want to get employed somewhere and somehow. They don't start their career on the right note by choosing the field that is right for them.

Do not make this mistake. Do not enter any profession or field that comes first. Exercise some patience and self control. Do not be hasty and do not get too anxious if any suitable job in your desired field does not come to you quickly.

What you need to do before you start job hunting is to take a good measure of your skills, talents, passions, interests, likes and dislikes as well as your strengths and weaknesses. Take a few blank sheets of paper and write down detailed, complete lists of all things that come to mind for the above categories.

For example, on one sheet of paper write down all your strengths. Take another sheet and write down your weaknesses. Take time for each list. Let your mind come up with items to add to the list. Do not hurry to complete the list as quickly as you can. Just keep jotting down whatever thing comes to the mind to be added.

In the same way, make a list of your passions and interests. Make a list of things that you like and another list containing things that you dislike. I am talking of likes and dislikes related to work. I am not talking of the foods you like or dislike. Rather note down whatever tasks or work you particularly enjoy and also the tasks that make you cringe and make you procrastinate. Add each of these tasks that you can think of to its respective list.

An important point - there is no need to try and finish all these lists in one day or one sitting. Let your mind dwell over things and keep giving you more things to be added. Sometimes you might find that as you are sitting with your friend and chatting casually some things come to mind in which you have lot of interest. These things might not have occurred to you earlier, but only after a couple of days.

Anyways always keep an open mind and make sure to write down whatever new idea comes to you. Do not think you have already completed this particular list and dont want to add anything new. Very soon you may get a feeling of completeness or emptiness which signifies that you have exhausted/completed all things for that particular list.

Once you have these lists ready, now is the time to go through these in detail so that you become more aware of your own personality and taste. There may be many things here that may surprise you. You might make many strange discoveries about yourself going over these lists.

Keep mulling over these lists for few days. No need to rush or hurry. Avoid the temptation to hurry things. Let the mind absorb what it has seen and observed and discovered. Let it all sink in. Very soon some ideas may form in your mind and heart about what direction would be best for you. The important thing is not to force yourself to come up with something. Let it happen by itself in its own sweet time.

After a few days you can take the lists and shortlist some items from your likes, passions, strengths and interests. See what you can do with these. How can you utilise these for earning money or getting employed? For example if one of your strengths is helping others solve their problems, think of where this kind of strength would be useful. This strength would probably be useful in management or human resources area where you have to work with people and it is your responsibility to look over their problems and help them solve the problems.

A person with such a strength is better off in working in jobs where he has to deal with people. Such a person is unlikely to be happy and satisfied in a technical or clerical job where interaction with other people is minimal.

So you can use these lists for better self-awareness and for wisely choosing which career field would be better for you. Try to find about what jobs exist which would suit your style, strengths and likes. If you are able to find a job which is suited to your taste and strengths, you may find it lot easier to make  progress and achieve big milestones in your career.

Warren Buffet reportedly said once, 'I did not work a single day in my life'. What he meant was he is so passionate about what he does, he loves his field so much that it does not feel like work. It feels like pleasure, fun and play. That is how you should feel about your work and your chosen field. If you don't feel that way then you are probably not in the right field.

There are many professionals with seemingly successful careers but on the inside they feel exhausted and unsatisfied. They feel something is missing in their lives. Every morning they dread getting out of their beds and going to office for the simple reason they don't love their work. They are just doing it for money. For this reason it is important to choose the right career from the start because once you take the first few steps, it can get very difficult to go back and start all over again in a new field.

And dont forget to check out our huge directory of jobs to find the right one for you: jobsource1.com